The Ball
by Doctor-Thirteen
Summary: Prince James encounters an unexpected guest at The Ball.


James stood by the big table in the ballroom, holding a glass of wine in his hand, the fingers of the other one tracing its rounded edges. He was thinking, as hard as that was since the music was playing, about home. His true home he had left behind so long ago. His mother, the sheep he would run after in the wide lush fields, their little house… It was all so different from the palace. Everything in the palace seemed distant to him, even after 6 long months he had spent in it.

"James…" He heard his fiancée call him sweetly, and turned around to see she had brought over another couple. It was time to fake a polite smile, and give out compliments to the lady. "These are Mr. and Mrs. Summers. They just arrived here from across the sea." Abigail went on, stepping closer to him and taking his arm.

"I hope you have enjoyed your trip as much as I hope you'll enjoy your stay." James said to the elderly couple, a soft smile on his face, though anyone with a sharper eye could see it wasn't quite genuine. He took a liking to the couple, really, they seemed nice, but this entire evening was simply missing something. James liked to convince himself he was missing home.

As Mr. and Mrs. Summers moved to the center of the ball room, where a few more couples danced, Abigail looked up sternly at him. "What's with you tonight? We're supposed to be the couple of the evening. It's our ball, after all!" She hissed in a low voice, to avoid the scandal of being head arguing with her fiancée.

"I'm so sorry." James answered, and he genuinely was. He just didn't feel like being there at all. Tedious, tiring, uneventful… All adjectives described the evening pretty well.

"Go get some fresh air. Maybe then you'll act like you should." Abigail said sharply. It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Her entire evening was in danger because of him, the evening she was planning for 2 months now, and she simply wouldn't have that.

"Right." James agreed, glaring slightly at her. The princess however didn't seem to notice it, and if she did, she gave no sign. She simply joined the guests.

With a heavy sigh, he walked over to the balcony, and leaned on the edge, looking into the distance. The treetops in the forest swayed ever so slightly under the gentle breeze, and the moon beamed so bright it could almost be mistaken for the sun itself. The night was so beautiful, yet he felt tired. He felt dull. Not that he usually didn't with Abigail, but usually, he could hide it much better.

"Bored, are we?" James heard a voice say, right by his ear. He blinked and turned around, ready to reassure whatever guest it was asking how much he 'loved' being there. But this was no ordinary guest.

The feminine figure wore a green cloak. Her appearance brought the familiar smell of the forest with it, and James was able to figure out who she was without even looking. Then, the cloak came off, and in front of him stood – Snow White.

Under her modest little cloak was a white dress, lined with pearls of the same color. She stuck to her word, though. No jewelry. But even without it, she looked quite stunning. There was even a slightly soaked white flower in her hair. The tiny drops of water on its petals reflected the moon.

James was speechless for a couple of moments, then simply swallowed and looked at her with concern. "Snow, what are you doing here?"

"What, no 'hello'?" Snow asked as she sat on the edge of the balcony, looking genuinely upset, though a smile broke out on her face when she next looked at him. "The nag got you down?"

"Well. No, no. She's great." James responded, scratching the back of his neck. "Just a bit annoying, really." He stared at her almost without blinking, which made Snow grin up at him.

"What? I can dress, I'm a girl." Snow pretend-pouted, crossing her arms.

"A woman." James corrected her as he leaned against the edge again. He stole a glance back at the ball room, looking concerned.

"Right." Snow agreed, following his gaze to the ballroom, a hint of mischief in her eyes. She knew he was concerned about the guards, who knew her as a criminal. "I'm thirsty. I'll go get some wine." She commented, jumping lightly to her feet and heading inside before he could respond.

"What? Snow, wait!" James called after her, running to catch up.

Once they were at the table with drinks, James glared at her sternly. "Just what in the world were you thinking?" He asked.

"What, I'm not allowed to attend fancy parties and drink from golden cups? It's not like I'm a thief or anything... Oh, wait…" Snow simply shrugged it off, taking a glass of wine.

"You didn't steal that dress, did you?" James asked, only half-playfully.

"No... I don't think… I lost track of where this came from." She responded as she looked down on her pearly dress, twirling to get a better look. "I think I stole it, yeah."

James simply rolled his eyes, and was just about to say something when Snow perked up, looking over his shoulder.

"Oh, I know this dance!" She commented cheerily, slipping right past him and into the crowd of guests, fitting in quite nicely with a clean dress for a change.

"Oh, God…" James muttered to himself as he followed her. Once he found her, he just stood there with crossed arms, while the couples around them danced. "You need to go."

Snow frowned. They were in the middle, away from the guards, she doubted anyone could actually see her. "Killjoy." She commented as she turned to leave, but an oncoming couple basically pushed her into James.

He caught her before she fell to the floor, while the couple muttered their apologies and passed them by.

"I guess it's just not meant to be…" Snow said with a sigh. "Me, leaving, I meant." She added quickly, just so he wouldn't get any ideas.

"Right." James answered with a smile. As dangerous as it was, having her around, it lifted his spirits. "Alright, may I have this dance?"

Snow looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

James looked baffled, but didn't let that bother him for too long. "Or you can dance with one of the guards. I'd understand. They're taller." He commented jokingly, no threat in his voice, despite him mentioning the guards.

One was slowly approaching them.

"Speak of the devil…" James muttered, nudging her so she'd look.

Snow stole a glance back, slight panic in her eyes. She had a look of a hunted doe as she turned her gaze back to him.

"Problems, your majesty?" The guard asked.

"No, none at all. I was simply having a conversation with an old friend of mine. Now, if you wouldn't mind, we'd very much like to have a dance." James answered politely, though there was some impatience in his voice. The guard nodded and immediately cleared out, but kept his eye on the mysterious lady talking to prince James.

"You saved me there." Snow said, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"It's the honorable thing to do. Now you have to dance, though." James said with a smirk. "Or will that be a problem for you?"

"Just because I live in the woods doesn't mean I'm an animal." Snow huffed playfully, taking his hands in hers, much to James' surprise. She led him over to a part of the ballroom that had most space for dancing. It was a pretty slow song.

James shrugged simply, and slid his hands down to her waist, while she put both of hers on his shoulders.

And they danced. Not one, not two, but three dances. Snow was especially light on her feet during the last, more energetic dance.

James finally pulled away, being tired from all the dancing, while Snow hopped about freely. He turned around to catch a glimpse at the guards, and saw them moving toward her. He froze for a few moments, before he was finally sensible enough to turn and try to shout to Snow. But she was already gone when he laid eyes on the spot he had last seen Snow on.

The guards looked baffled themselves, as they kept turning around in one spot, scratching their heads and asking each other if they saw anything.

James couldn't help but laugh. And it was a genuine, whole-hearted laugh, and his fiancée Abigail heard it. She walked over to him and slapped him on the wrist. "Behave." She muttered, and he quieted down a bit. There was still laughter in his eyes when he looked back at her. "You seem more cheerful. Good. There are about five guests we haven't greeted properly, come on." Abigail led him over to the balcony, where the said guests gathered in the meantime.

James was just about to begin yet another tedious conversation when he caught a glimpse of a figure in white riding a castle horse into the forest.  
>The smile he gave the guests afterwards was genuine.<p> 


End file.
